After fighting tooth and nail in a fight of the year contender against Sergiy Derevyanchenko this summer, Jaime Munguia’s return to the ring appears imminent.
Golden Boy Promotions founder and Hall of Fame fighter Oscar De La Hoya is planning for the Mexican fighter to fight again before the calendar turns to 2024.
“We have Jaime Munguia coming back late this year, possibly November,” De La Hoya said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other media. “We’re still nailing down an opponent. I love John Ryder. I love Chris Eubank Jr. There’s a couple of guys out there. We’ll see. Munguia is in a position where either fighters are busy, like the Charlos, or they are hurt and can’t fight. I would love the Ryder fight for him. Just the fact that Canelo [Alvarez] fought him and Jaime would have an opportunity to knock him out. Imagine that? That would be big.”
De La Hoya doubled down on Ryder as a possible opponent for the 26-year-old Munguia for the second time in less than a week.
Publicly emerging as a possible desired opponent for the first time, however, is Eubank Jr., who’s fresh off a dominant stoppage win in a rematch against Liam Smith this month.
Eubank has bounced back and forth between 160 and 168 pounds in recent years, and he’s exclusively competed at middleweight since 2019. The former 154-pound titlist Munguia didn’t capture a title at 160 pounds before making his 168-pound debut against Derevyanchenko in June.
Another possible matchup for Munguia could also be presented against the “Mexican Monster” David Benavidez. The potential pitting has been a hot topic in recent months, but Benavidez shared recently that it’s no longer happening next.
When De La Hoya was asked when a Munguia-Benavidez fight could happen, he said, “honestly, next year.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.